Hotel Inter-Continental Address: 296 Mao Tse Tung Blvd. Phnom Penh Cambodia Tel: 855-23-424 888 Fax: 855-23-424 885

This was the first true competition to the Cambodiana and still one of Phnom Penh's most elegant hotels, though no longer the city's best. You might want to reconsider a stay here after you discover one of its owners is Teng Boonma, Cambodia's most flamboyant and richest tycoon, who's best known for shooting out the tires of aircraft when he's not pleased with the in-flight service, or simply seizing commercial jetliners if he wants to get somewhere in a hurry - not to mention being suspected by the U.S. government of being one of Cambodia's biggest drug traffickers.

Nonetheless the Inter-Continental boasts all the usual upscale amenities, multiple restaurants and pubs as well as a spa and swimming pool. Drawbacks: its location somewhat away from the main city center.